I should mention that PTR builds are snapshotted off our current "work in progress" and sometimes picks up some changes and not others. In this case, the Disintegrate change was picked up, but the Ray of Frost change was not. Ray of Frost got a comparable damage buff as well, which will be seen in the next PTR build (along with the Witch Doctor Firebats damage numbers)

There are no plans to buff the proc coefficient on Ray of Frost or Disintegrate. I understand that means they won't replace existing skills that are used to combo with Critical Mass. We aren't trying to compete for synergy with Critical Mass but rather to create the possibility of playing in an entirely different way.

Quality Over Quantity
Nakatoir explains Blizzard's philosophy on patching and why it often seems slow.

While we totally understand that you would like to see patches more frequently, a high quality and well-polished update is better for the life of a game than the quantity provided. If we tried to rush the patches that we're working on, it would result in us releasing content that doesn't meet our desired level of quality.

Iam trying to think of good reasons but so far i was not able to come up with any.
Patches take time, creating improvements and making changes to such a wide variety of systems requires a lot of work.

Making the changes like those listed in the 1.0.8 patch notes are not as easy as simply tweaking a few numbers. The changes we make to the game are a lot more complicated than what you may initially assume them to be and a great deal of time is required in order to develop, implement, test and prepare every change for a live environment.

Because Blizzard is working on 6 big projects at the same time and PoE is just... PoE.I don't think Diablo3 patches are top priority.
Actually, every game at Blizzard has its own dedicated team of developers, so the amount of resources allocated to Diablo III isn't affected by other projects we may have in the works. You can rest assured that the Diablo III team holds it as their highest priority.

Firebats Bugged on PTR
The Firebats change in the current PTR build is incomplete, and we intend to buff the damage in the next build. Here is a quote from Wyatt that explains what happened a little better, and a link to the thread if you want to read more.

Wyatt: The Firebats changes were halfway done when we snapshotted the PTR patch.

The mana cost change was one change. The other change is buffing the damage of Firebats. The mana change made this PTR patch, the damage change did not. Look for it in the next PTR patch after this one.

I've also seen a few post reporting that the mana cost for Firebats doesn't seem to have changed correctly, but the tooltip did. We're investigating this, and hope to have it worked out before the next PTR build. If you ever come across inconsistencies like this while playing on the PTR, but sure to post in the PTR Bug Report forum so we can take a look: http://us.battle.net.../forum/7328696/

Are you also investigating the similar problems with other skills, rapid fire in particular?
We're working on testing all the class changes currently intended for patch 1.0.8, and that includes Rapid Fire for Demon Hunters. You can find the class changes in the patch notes, and if you've noticed any bugs with those changes you can report them in thePTR Bug Report forum. We definitely appreciate the feedback! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Multiplicative Shrinesspecifically, enlightened and fortune shrines?
The shrines are not multiplicative, but it's an interesting idea. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Still No Date For Itemization
We see a lot of discussion about when the itemization changes will be implemented into Diablo III, and I would like to help out with some clarification on the subject. The Developer Journal: Itemizationblog (where these changes were mentioned by Travis Day) was written independently of any particular patch information, and we never mentioned an estimate on when we might see those changes. Currently we don't have any updates on when we might see them, but we'll be sure to let you all know as soon as we do.

I know we already have legacy versions most legendary items. What is going to happen if you update the items yet again? Are we going to have Legacy-Legacy items?
This is a good question. I don't have an answer for you, but I will bring it to the developers attention.(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

When Do You Get XP in Coop?
I have an answer for you. In order to get xp or loot from a slain monster you need to be in proximity of it when it dies or have been in combat with it. For example, if you go back to town to repair your armor after fighting a nasty elite and your friend kills it while you’re not around, you'll get loot and xp, because you had already tagged the monster. However, if your friend then finds a new elite and kills it before you come back, then you will not get loot or xp.

The eternal conflict is always raging between the forces of the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, and it’s hard to believe that the Archangels of Hope, Valor, Fate, Wisdom, and Justice have much time for anything other than the war at-hand. But every now and then, every virtue of Anu deserves a break.

This week’s community spotlight showcases fan artist Crimson-Nemesis and her adorable renditions of Diablo III’s Archangels.

Many of Crimson-Nemesis’ illustrations feature members of the Angelic Host partaking in activities that wouldn’t necessarily be connected to the tastes and past-times of the High Heaven’s finest. There are angels playing pranks with Imperius’ halo, Auriel’s unique method of breaking up fights, and even Tyrael being treated to an ice cream cone by a kindly Barbarian. But they all share one thing in common: a distinctive comic style we can all enjoy.

Crimson-Nemesis was also nice enough to answer a few questions we had for her:

Q. How long have you been creating art?
I've been drawing and painting since I was little with any sort of medium I could get my hands on, but when it comes to digital art it started about 4 years ago when I finally got my first tablet.

Q. Your chibi Diablo III characters are incredibly endearing! What prompted you to start drawing them?
Mainly the urge to draw Diablo fanart and turn the ideas in my head into pictures. Because most of these ideas are rather silly I decided to draw chibis - they're cute and more suited for jokes.

Also all my attempts to draw Diablo characters in their true form never turned out how I wanted them to be. They were not horribly bad but for me not good enough and whenever I fail with my art I tend to return to something which usually works for me and also cheers me up - like sketches of chibis for example.

Q. Where do you get your ideas from?
Mainly from conversations with friends when we talk about the game and the chars but also from seeing Diablo based fanart or reading fan fictions.

Q. Which is your favorite Diablo III comic that you’ve created?
Hm, that's kinda hard but I'd say this one mainly because it is the result of a really shallow and silly word-play - which is a good example for my special sense of 'humor'.

Q. Do you have any other Diablo-themed pieces in the works?
Nothing big right now but I tend to doodle on a canvas once in a while which only consists of Diablo based sketches and mini comics - when I find the time some of them will get to be cleaned and colored. Nearly all of my current Diablo sketches have their origin on this canvas as well.

Q. We have to ask: who is your favorite Archangel?
Tyrael of course - he was one of my favorite chars since I discovered Diablo back in 2001 - I always admired his character and design.

Q. What programs do you use to create your art, and how long do your pieces take you to create?
At the moment I use Paint Tool SAI for my digital art. As for the time, that's not so easy to tell but since most of my Diablo art is just sketches with simple colors they take about 1 to 3 hours, depending if it's just a single image or a comic strip.

Q. What tips do you have for aspiring artists out there?
My main tip is always to keep practicing! Many younger artists I talk to tend to complain about the little progress they do or how much trouble they have with certain areas of art - like anatomy or coloring or drawing hands. But drawing/painting, art in general, is a skill and with practice everyone can get better. Complaining won't help, they have to sit down and practice or they'll never reach their desired goals.

Another tip would be to accept challenges. It is normal that every artists feels most comfortable with the things they are good at but if an artist wants to thrive they have to leave their comfort zone and try new things, new techniques, challenge themselves with areas or ideas they have problems with or unfamiliar with. They might not like how their first tries turn out but if they never try new things they won't learn anything new and never find out if they might be able to master a challenge. Practice and challenging ones skill is the only way to move forward.

Thank you again for the chance to feature my art!

Can’t get enough of Crimson-Nemesis? Check out her DeviantArt page to indulge in her colorful gallery!

They need to fix a couple of other problems w/ Ray of Lost before the DPS.
-If you run away from monsters, and try to flip around to pulse-snare pursuing monsters, you take too much time swiviling around. This is also true for Disintegrate.
-It takes a full 1/2 second or so to apply the snare. That's way too long.
-In consequence, you can't sweep the beam and snare multiple enemies at once. It takes 1 second to snare two monsters, which is ridiculous.

Ray needs to be a very quick and effective snare first and foremost. The DPS is an afterthought. If it can't slow down a lot of enemies quickly, it will never be an option for most normal builds.